Fruit Tree Novice

[broadway]

Morning Folks

I'm after a bit of advice re dwarf fruit trees please. I was thinking of getting some to plant at the allotment to sort of border off the last 1/4 of the plot, self-pollinating.

- Can they be planted this time of year? Was thinking of plum, pear, apple, maybe cherry?

- Are these duo trees any good or a gimmick?

- How many could I fit in 7 metres?

- If I got them now is there any harm in keeping them in pots for the first year then planting out next?

[Snadger]

I got some last year in put them in largish pots with the intention of re-potting once compost was full of roots.
Theoretically, pot grown plants can be transplanted at any time of year.

[nickdub]

Planting out in the soil is best as the more root growth a tree can make when it is young the better it will do when it is older - obviously stronger trees can grow more fruit.

I'm not sure the extra cost of a duo tree is really worth it, but it does depend on how much more you have to pay for them. Generally my advice would be to get a single variety and beg or borrow some scion wood next year from a different variety, and try your hand at grafting or budding yourself - it's really not that hard, as long as you are moderately dexterous.

[ameno]

Duo trees aren't worth it. They cost a lot more, and are usually much harder to look after, as inevitably one variety is more vigorous than the other, and so without very careful pruning tends to take over.

How many trees you could fit in 7m depends on how you grow them. You could fit seven cordons in that space, for example, as you grow cordons tall and narrow. Although of those fruit, only apples and pears can be grown as cordons, not plums or cherry.
For trees on dwarfing rootstocks (M27 or smaller for apple, Pixy or VVA-1 for Plum, Quince C for pear, Gisella for cherry) grown as normal bush trees, you can get away with a 2m spacing, as long as you are careful with pruning. So in 7m, you could fit four trees. Cherries can be difficult, so personally I'd go for a plum, a pear, and two apples (two different varieties, ready and different times). And if you get apples whose flowering period overlaps then they don't need to be self-fertile, as the two trees will pollinate each other.

[broadway]

Duo trees aren't worth it. They cost a lot more, and are usually much harder to look after, as inevitably one variety is more vigorous than the other, and so without very careful pruning tends to take over.

How many trees you could fit in 7m depends on how you grow them. You could fit seven cordons in that space, for example, as you grow cordons tall and narrow. Although of those fruit, only apples and pears can be grown as cordons, not plums or cherry.
For trees on dwarfing rootstocks (M27 or smaller for apple, Pixy or VVA-1 for Plum, Quince C for pear, Gisella for cherry) grown as normal bush trees, you can get away with a 2m spacing, as long as you are careful with pruning. So in 7m, you could fit four trees. Cherries can be difficult, so personally I'd go for a plum, a pear, and two apples (two different varieties, ready and different times). And if you get apples whose flowering period overlaps then they don't need to be self-fertile, as the two trees will pollinate each other.

Thanks very much Ameno

[Guest]

Just to confuse things a bit more you also need to go for spur bearing apples if training trees.

What are you actually aiming for? (lots of variety and a few extra fruit, a pretty fence of trained trees, or more bulk and bush like trees)
What is your soil like? (Most of mine are on semi dwarfing rootstocks and I prune them back but I am not a finnicky nurturer so it suits me)
What fruit do you actually like/want?

As for planting now any thing is worth a bash (as long as it is more cheap and cheerful)

[ameno]

I should add, I mean to say M26 or smaller for apples. M27 rootstock is the smallest you can get, anyway. I'd recommend M26 or M9 for a 7-8ft bush apple tree, though.

[broadway]

Just to confuse things a bit more you also need to go for spur bearing apples if training trees.

What are you actually aiming for? (lots of variety and a few extra fruit, a pretty fence of trained trees, or more bulk and bush like trees)
What is your soil like? (Most of mine are on semi dwarfing rootstocks and I prune them back but I am not a finnicky nurturer so it suits me)
What fruit do you actually like/want?

As for planting now any thing is worth a bash (as long as it is more cheap and cheerful)

Hello NG

Basically I'm aiming to introduce some fruit plus a fence / border near the bottom of the plot. I like all fruit so am happy to go for apples, pear, and plum if this works. Soil is clay so I may well have to wait this year and prep the ground for next??

[Guest]

If it is clay then you should look at upping the rootstock. Hopefully someone can recomend rootstock that is suitable for clay. The wet in winter is the biggest issue. You could always cordon gooseberries if you want fruit and a fence. They tolerate just about everything and can be done really cheaply if you scrounge some cuttings off someone and the bonus is they fruit quicker than trees.

[Jongreenfingers]

Another way of achieving the 'family tree' effect is to plant multiple varieties into a single hole. Try match vigour in the varieties you choose, as best possible. But eventually, you will have the same problem of managing different growth rates with careful pruning, but just not quite as acute as grafting multiple varieties onto a single rootstock.

Having said that, I am busy grafting over a huge old Arthur Turner with five different cider apples, knowing full well that the Dabinett will be much slower growing than the rest, with the Tremlitts Bitter and Kingston Black in particular being much more vigorous. But why ruin a fun project with logic?

Once I've posted enough to clear the bar, I'll post a few pics.